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Ford, Lincoln To Introduce Six New SUV Nameplates By 2020

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Ford Motor Company is looking to expand its portfolio of crossovers and SUVs in the US from nine models to thirteen by the year 2020, Reuters reports.

“SUVs are the top-selling segment in the US,” says Ford VP of US Marketing, Sales and Service Mark LaNeve. “That is why we are introducing five new SUVs in the US by 2020” under the Ford brand. One additional, new SUV model will be introduced by 2020 wearing the Lincoln luxury badge. The Ford Flex and its more-luxurious counterpart, the Lincoln MKT, are expected to be discontinued after 2019.

Ford’s Future SUV Portfolio

Joining the compact Escape, mid-size Edge, and full-size Explorer and Expedition models over the next three years will be the Ford EcoSport, revealed at the 2016 LA Auto Show; a new Bronco, confirmed at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show; and an all-new, battery-electric crossover, announced at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show. The EcoSport will be imported from India starting in early-2018, while the Bronco and unnamed pure-electric crossover will be built domestically at the automaker’s Michigan Assembly and Flat Rock Assembly plants, respectively.

While the company hasn’t disclosed any details of the other two future Ford SUVs, sources told Reuters that both will be small crossovers: one based on the next-generation Focus compact, and the other based on the new, subcompact Fiesta.

Lincoln’s SUV Selection

Meanwhile, it’s expected that Lincoln Motor Company will introduce a new, mid-size crossover in 2019; suppliers refer to it alternatively as the Aviator or the MKD, according to Reuters. It could ride on the same platform as the next-generation Ford Explorer, the site reports, although that model is considered “full-size.”

Redesigns

On top of all the fresh, new models joining the Ford and Lincoln SUV lineups, the Ford Escape will likely undergo a redesign in 2018, followed by the Explorer and Edge in 2019 and 2021, respectively. An all-new Ford Expedition was unveiled just earlier. Lincoln will debut a new Navigator this fall, along with a redesigned MKC in 2019, and a redesigned MKX in 2021.

SUV and crossover models accounted for 33.9 percent of Ford’s US sales in 2016, up significantly from the year before, and with the segment expected to swell to 40 percent of the US new-vehicle market by 2020, the automaker is prudent to invest in this area.

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— Aaron Brzozowski

Aaron Brzozowski is a writer and motoring enthusiast from Detroit with an affinity for '80s German steel. He is not active on the Twitter these days, but you may send him a courier pigeon.